Symphurus parvus
Pygmy Tonguefish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Pleuronectfiormes (Flatfishes)
Cynoglossidae (Tonguefishes)
Symphurus
Symphurus parvus (Pygmy Tonguefish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Well-developed pupillary operculum, 10 caudal fin rays, anterior naris on ocular side terminates as a long tube reaching anterior margin of lower eye, posterior margin of maxilla extends to anterior margin of pupil of lower eye, lower jaw on ocular side lacks fleshy ridge near posterior margin, jaw teeth well developed on blind side but limited to single row on ocular side, measurements (% SL): head length 18%-26%, head width 21.1%-27.9%, body depth 24.8%-32.8%, (% HL): snout length 14.6%-22.9%, upper jaw length 18.5%-25.2%, eye diameter 10.5%-19.7%, dorsal fin originates between anterior margin and midpoint of upper eye with 75-86 rays, pelvic fin long with posteriormost ray connected to body or anal fin, anal fin has 60-70 rays, body and head covered with large ctenoid scales, scales absent on blind side of dorsal and anal fins, 59-78 scales in longitudinal series, vertebrae number 43-47
Ocular side light brown or yellowish with irregular dusky markings and spots, dark brown oblong or diamond-shaped spot near caudal fin base, occasionally faint dark bands on body, inner surfaces of opercular cavity and isthmus unpigmented, dorsal and anal fins progressively darker posteriorly, blind side white or yellowish, peritoneum unpigmented
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Cape Lookout, NC, to Trinidad, including the Gulf of Mexico
Less common off Texas and in the southern Gulf off Yucatán, absent in the western Gulf south of Texas
Habitat Associations
Between 20 and 146 m, associated with terrigenous substrates
Terrigenous substrates
Biology
Maximum known size is 87 mm SL
Inhabits bays and shallow coastal waters. Sexual maturity of females attained at 4-4.5 cm (Ref. 26268).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-08-20. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Ginsburg 1951
Topp and Hoff 1972
Hoese and Moore 1977, 1998
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Munroe 1992, 1998, 2002f
Smith 1997
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Munroe, T.A. (1998) Systematics and ecology of tonguefishes of the genus Symphurus (Cynoglossidae: Pleuronectiformes) from the western Atlantic Ocean. Fish. Bull. 96(1):1-182.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
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